A Hunger So Wild
Praise for
A Touch of Crimson
“Will rock readers with a stunning new world, a hot-blooded hero, and a strong, kick-ass heroine. This is Sylvia Day at the top of her game!”
—
New York Times
bestselling author Larissa Ione
“Angels and demons, vampires and lycans, all set against an inventive, intriguing story world that hooked me from the first page. Balancing action and romance, humor and hot sensuality, Sylvia Day’s storytelling dazzles. I can’t wait to read more about this league of sexy, dangerous guardian angels and the fascinating world they inhabit.
A Touch of Crimson
is a paranormal romance lover’s feast!”
—
New York Times
bestselling author Lara Adrian
“Explodes with passion and heat. A hot, sexy angel to die for and a gutsy heroine make for one exciting read.”
—
New York Times
bestselling author Cheyenne McCray
“Sylvia Day spins a gorgeous adventure in
A Touch of Crimson
that combines gritty, exciting storytelling with soaring lyricism. Adrian is my favorite kind of hero—an alpha-male angel determined to win the heart of his heroine, Lindsay, while protecting her from his lethal enemy. Lindsay is a gutsy, likable woman with paranormal abilities of her own, as well as a dedication to protecting humanity against a race of demonic monsters. This is definitely a book for your keeper shelf.”
—
New York Times
bestselling author Angela Knight
“Absolutely perfect! There are so many levels to this book, plots, subplots, shades of gray; it was brilliantly constructed and written.…Not only is the story magnificent, but it is truly one of the hottest books I’ve read this year.”
—Rage, Sex and Teddy Bears
“Catapults you headfirst into the action from the very first page.…[This] had everything I could hope for in a book. Fantastic characters, a hunk of a leading man…a sympathetic and headstrong leading lady, and an awesome story line.…[This] is packed with action, killer one-liners, and gripping cliffhangers.”
—All About Me
“A gripping, touching, and scintillating page-turner. [Day] skillfully blends a timeless tale of love lost and found. [This is] a perfect romance with excellent world building that’s rich with angels, lycans, and vampires.”
—
Romantic Times
(4½ stars)
Praise for Sylvia Day
“When it comes to brewing up scorchingly hot sexual chemistry, Day has few literary rivals.”
—
Booklist
“Day is a writer whose flair for sensuality and storytelling will take her far.”
—
Romantic Times
Also by Sylvia Day
The Renegade Angels Series
A Touch of Crimson
A Caress of Wings
(A Penguin e-Special novella)
A H
UNGER
S
O
W
ILD
A RENEGADE ANGELS NOVEL
SYLVIA DAY
A SIGNET ECLIPSE BOOK
SIGNET ECLIPSE
Published by New American Library, a division of
Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street,
New York, New York 10014, USA
Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto,
Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)
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Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices:
80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
First published by Signet Eclipse, an imprint of New American Library,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
First Printing, July 2012
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Copyright © Sylvia Day, 2012
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
ISBN: 978-1-101-58713-3
SIGNET ECLIPSE and logo are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
Printed in the United States of America
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.
If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”
ALWAYS LEARNING
PEARSON
This one is for all the readers who have so generously
embraced the Renegade Angels. Your support and
enthusiasm mean the world to me. Thank you!
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I remain deeply grateful to Danielle Perez, Claire Zion, Kara Welsh, Leslie Gelbman, and everyone at NAL for being so wonderful with this series and with me.
Thank you to Robin Rue and Beth Miller for handling the pesky details.
Thanks to the art department for granting my wish to have Tony Mauro design my cover…again. I’m thrilled.
My love to Tony Mauro for another striking cover. I’m such a fan. It makes me giddy to have his artwork on my books.
Himeko, I told you I’d make you a lycan. I did.
And thank you to all the readers, reviewers, bloggers, booksellers, and librarians who’ve talked up the Renegade Angels series and shared it with your friends, customers, patrons, and visitors. I very much appreciate each and every one of you!
Go tell the Watchers of heaven, who have deserted the lofty sky, and their holy everlasting station, who have been polluted with women, and have done as the sons of men do, by taking to themselves wives, and who have been greatly corrupted on the earth; that on the earth they shall never obtain peace and remission of sin. For they shall not rejoice in their offspring; they shall behold the slaughter of their beloved; shall lament for the destruction of their sons; and shall petition for ever; but shall not obtain mercy and peace.
The Book of Enoch 12:5–7
GLOSSARY
CHANGE
—the process a mortal undergoes to become a vampire.
FALLEN
—the
Watchers
after the fall from grace. They have been stripped of their wings and their souls, leaving them as immortal blood drinkers who cannot procreate.
LYCANS
—a subgroup of the
Fallen
who were spared vampirism by agreeing to serve the
Sentinels
. They were transfused with demon blood, which restored their souls but made them mortal. They can shape-shift and procreate.
MINION
—a mortal who has been
Changed
into a
vampire
by one of the
Fallen
. Most mortals do not adjust well and become rabid. Unlike the
Fallen
, they cannot tolerate sunlight.
NAPHIL
—singular of
nephalim
.
NEPHALIM
—the children of mortal and
Watcher
parents. Their blood drinking contributed to and inspired the vampiric punishment of the
Fallen
.
(“they turned themselves against men, in order to devour them”—Enoch 7:13)
(“No food shall they eat; and they shall be thirsty”—Enoch 15:10)
SENTINELS
—an elite special ops unit of the
seraphim
, tasked with enforcing the punishment of the
Watchers
.
SERAPH
—singular of
seraphim
.
SERAPHIM
—the highest rank of angel in the angelic hierarchy.
VAMPIRES
—a term that encompasses both the
Fallen
and their
minions
.
WATCHERS
—two hundred
seraphim
angels sent to earth at the beginning of time to observe mortals. They violated the laws by taking mortals as mates and were punished with an eternity on earth as
vampires
with no possibility of forgiveness.
WRAITH VIRUS
—the street name for a new disease sweeping through the
vampire
ranks. Symptoms include mindless hunger, foaming at the mouth, and graying of the skin, hair, and irises.
WRAITHS
—
minions
infected with the
Wraith Virus
.
ROLOGUE
I
t was fingertips following the curve of her spine that woke Vashti from slumber. She arched into the familiar touch with a purr of delight, a smile curving her lips as she floated up to total awareness.
“
Neshama
,” her mate murmured.
My soul. Just as he was hers.
With her eyes still closed, she rolled to her back and stretched, pushing her naked breasts up to Charron in deliberate provocation.
The velvet lash of his tongue across her nipple startled her, eliciting a gasp that dropped her back onto the mattress. Her eyes opened in time to see his beautifully etched lips surround the hardened point and his cheeks hollow on a deep, long suckle. She groaned, her body eagerly responding to the attentions of the man for whom she drew every breath.
She moved to clutch his golden head to her breast, but he straightened, making her aware that he stood
beside the bed rather than lay upon it. The sight of his fully dressed body told her why he’d woken her.
Towering over her sprawled, bared body, he stared down at her with heated eyes. The fangs peeping through his wicked smile betrayed that he, too, had become aroused by the way he’d woken her.
Her heart raced at that smile. Her chest ached from the surfeit of emotion he inspired in her. She’d lost everything; at times she still felt phantom twinges from the wings that had been severed from her back, but Char had filled the subsequent hole inside her. Now he was everything to her, the reason she rose every day.
“Save that thought,” he said in his richly resonant voice. “I’ll sate your hunger when I return.”
Vash pushed up onto her elbows. “Where are you going?”